This time of year, there’s no shortage of occasions to crack open a cold beer on a hot day. The only thing that could be better than a cold one? The two-ingredient, British pub stalwart known as the shandy, which offers bright refreshment and fizz, both especially welcome as temperatures climb.
The name is the shortened form of shandygaff, a drink originally made with beer, often ale, mixed with ginger beer or ginger ale. A recipe first appeared in print in 19th-century England, and while shandies nowadays are most often made with equal parts beer and lemonade, the drink remains an enduring fixture in pub life.
“Ordering your first shandy is like being baptized into the pub,” said Annie Shi, a restaurateur and co-owner of King, Lei, Jupiter and now Dean’s, a newly opened restaurant in downtown New York inspired by British pubs. “It’s the entry-level drink, an intro to your first proper pint.”
Across Europe you’ll find the simple beer-and-lemonade combination under other aliases: Order a radler in Germany, a clara in Spain, a panaché in France and you’ll soon be cooling down with an effervescent, citrus-brightened beer tailor-made for warm days.
No matter what you call it, the shandy’s sun-out appeal is multifold. First, its two-part formula makes it especially easy to make. Choose a glass; pour equal parts beer and your choice of lemonade, ginger beer or ginger ale; drink.
Yes, though the shandy’s modern default mixer is sparkling lemonade, the drink can still be cut with the more traditional ginger addition. “The ginger adds a little heat to it and just a little bit more depth of flavor,” Ms. Shi said. “I also feel like it’s a really British ingredient, so that is going to be really fun for us to play with.” For the version at Dean’s, Ms. Shi uses leftover ginger syrup from making candied ginger to use in a spice-forward lemonade.
At home, barring unfettered access to quarts of ginger syrup, a classic shandy can be easily fashioned. Your lemonade can be sparkling or still, homemade or already bottled and ready to pour (note that the sparkling option combined with the beer’s fizz helps keep the drink extra bubbly). Should you want to add another layer of flavor to your shandy, muddle in a bit of fresh fruit or add a splash of fruity crème de cassis, as in a cassis shandy.
For a more modern take on the shandy, try adding cassis, a liqueur made with black currants, to your beer and lemonade.Credit…Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Choosing the right beer is a matter of personal preference. A lighter lager plays well with both citrus and ginger options, making for a bright, light and fizzy drink. A mild, slightly citrusy wheat beer will blend seamlessly with the mixer. Opting for a nonalcoholic beer renders your shandy, unsurprisingly, nonalcoholic, but no less delicious.
If you decide to use an ale, pick a blonde or golden ale over amber and bitter-leaning varieties, which can overwhelm or clash with your mixer. Whatever beer you choose, make sure both said beer and your chosen mixer are very cold from the start. To ensure your shandy stays chilled for as long as possible, pop the glass in the freezer for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour before mixing.
Tailor-made for long, warm days, the equal-parts shandy is a longtime summer staple for good reason. “You’re getting some vitamin C in, you’re getting some fresh ginger juice and you’re getting some beer,” Ms. Shi said. “What’s not to love about that?”
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